


Sunset.

by RaccoonEyedNerd



Series: The Wanderer Triology [3]
Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Based on Romanian mythology, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-08-26 09:54:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16679398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaccoonEyedNerd/pseuds/RaccoonEyedNerd
Summary: The last installment.





	Sunset.

**Author's Note:**

> *sighs* The last one to the saga, and I say bye bye to this universe I love uwu. As always, I'm immensely thankful for your support and patience and eager to read what do you think about this work; I can't express how happy it makes me when I know you like what I bring to the table.
> 
> I hope you enjoy.
> 
> This is dedicated to @baerikas and of course, my girl Deb, who keeps surprising me with the amount of love she gives to me and my weird mind.

The childish part of herself would’ve compared the little clouds coming from her mouth to a dragon’s breath when she saw them dissolve as she looked up at the sky, but the cold made it hard to think and the pain on her hands made it hard to stop, so she just kept clawing at the snow relentlessly. Over and over again, she dug her fingers in a frenzy; the cold ground under the snow making her bleed under her nails, staining the cursed dirt with her blood and sealing her fate when she realized she wouldn’t be able to remove any more ground in search of what she really doesn’t want to find, not ever in such a winter.

 

Jihyo wants nothing but to forget, and fate its cruel with the young maid because the only source of heat she can feel rests on the tears that are running down her face as she stares at the dead flowers resting over a grave no one else visited, a forgotten soul she sworn to protect.

 

The one that came back as a nightmare, carrier of blood and war to the kingdom she once believed safe until she saw the darkness resting behind golden and white walls, the crooked smile of her king. Jihyo cries on her knees, her reddened face burying itself in the snow in hopes to muffle her cries and keep her weakness as a secret between her and the forest.

 

But snow it’s white and cold, merciless, and Jihyo learns in a couple minutes that’s easier to learn from the cold of the winter than the evidence of the kingdoms’ biggest sin. She gets up with trembling knees, and turns around to look at the castle, lit fireplaces burning like they always did in evenings like that; everything is normal but the storm inside her, and her steps become faster as she approaches, walking past guards and other maids who look at her with caution in order to get down stone stairs, making her way towards the dungeons. Her hair is sticking to her reddened face because of the snow, and there’s a little scar on her cheekbone because of a branch on her way back; Jihyo looks wild, and her heart beats like that too, when she’s standing in front of a dark door, with even darker dangers behind it.

 

“Open it, Chan.” She says, and the young guard stares at her in confusion and shock; Jihyo knows him, barely old enough to make it into the royal guard, but loyal enough for the king to trust him with his life. But inside the castle, everyone knew what Jihyo meant: she meant the words of the princess, she meant the words of the future of their kingdom.

 

“The trial is tomorrow morning, Jihyo, they can’t see anyone until then, besides-” There’s fear on his young face but the maid was looking as determined as she ever felt in her whole life when she interrupts him.

 

“Chan, have they asked for something since they arrived? Did they even resist when you brought them down here?”

 

“No, Jihyo.”

 

“Then why would they dare to do something to me?”

 

The guard seems to fall deep in thought, but he doesn’t stop Jihyo when she places her hand on his shoulder and softly pushes him aside, trembling fingers placing themselves on the lock and opening it slowly. She reveals to herself the dark room, no light other than the torch that Chan hands her and the dangerous reflection of three blue eyes, staring at her from the depths. Both strangers look at ease, maybe too much considering the King wants them dead; the young general is looking at her curiously, measuring every and each movement.

 

But Jihyo can’t barely look at the other one, not until she speaks, soft as satin, devoid of any hatred or violence.

 

“We will not attack, we don’t intend to.”

 

Jihyo nods and the general gets up slowly to not startle her, she walks to the other side of the small cell and sits beside her queen, leaving an empty stone make up bench for her to sit. The maid moves cautiously, trying to keep her focus, but once she meets the eyes of the one she’s scared of, she cant bring herself to look away.

 

“You know the story of me.” The soft voice says, knowingly, and the general looks like she wants to say something but there’s something primal holding her back of doing so, like the instinct prevents the wolf to attack its alpha. “Of the appearance I have.”

 

“You’re a child from the stars, Wolf claw.” Jihyo says accusingly “A demon, I know your kind.”

 

“Wolf claw? How nice is to receive yet another title.” The general chuckles, and the maid feels slightly intimidated, not that she will ever show that in front of prisoners. “But our true nature is too much for you, woman, to understand.”

 

“Hyejoo…” The stranger says, and the young general falls quiet. Jihyo sees the difference in their personalities, but they’re both oddly calm for their current situation. “What’s your name, m’lady?”

 

The maid looks baffled when she’s being talked to like she was royalty, but the eyes of the stranger look so honest that they cause a chill to run up her spine.

 

“Jihyo, and I’m just a maid, no need for you to call me otherwise.”

 

“You carry the weight of something you shouldn’t, young Jihyo, so heavy that it would crush any of my soldiers to the ground and it has to do with who I am now. For me, you’re as worthy as any royal, and even more so, so I’ll call you as I please.”

 

“But is it you who’s calling me like that? Or are you just a bloodthirsty demon wearing a mask for its convenience?”

 

The stranger leans forwards and Jihyo’s breath gets caught on her throat, because the demon looks _just like her_ and just as breathtaking, the resemblance is killing her on the inside but again she doesn’t show. Tough as the marble on the floors of the castle, Jihyo made herself a warrior without even carrying a sword.

 

“Tell the story you’ve been keeping for so long, the secret that causes so much pain, and you’ll understand.”

 

“Why would I tell the story again, if it hurts?” The maid questions, but then she sees the curious glint on the young general’s eyes as she also leans forward. The demon places her hand on the younger’s shoulder as if saying ‘not yet’.

 

“I’d say that we all learn from our mistakes and underlying pains, but that wouldn’t be honest.” The dark queen says, one of her hands reaching for her general’s hair, playing with it as if the bond they shared was a little bit more than just a queen-soldier one, the dark one seemed to care about the young general. “The truth is, that it’s not my story to tell, and my general would very much appreciate to know the reasons behind her presence here.”

 

“Do you really follow your Queen so blindly, even when it’s suicidal and the whole definition of madness?” Jihyo asks in disbelief, and Hyejoo in exchange looks at her like she grew a second head out of nowhere.

 

“I’d follow my Queen to the depths of hell if she asked me to, and I’d do it with a smile.” The young general says, her juvenile features making themselves evident when she seeks for approval on the face of her leader. “I’ve made myself a worthy warrior for her and sworn to be the sword to her right hand. But my kind needs to know, my people needs to know of the secret you hide.”

 

Jihyo bites her tongue for a second, not sure why such a crazy idea crosses her mind, but she finds herself looking for clues that the dark Queen seems to keep behind her ever-knowing eyes.

 

“Do you, by chance, come from the northern kingdom?”

 

Both strangers look at her, one in curiosity and the other one in almost prideful approval.

 

She made the connection as quickly as she blinked, and her hands were shaking because of the pain remembering her previous endeavors. She didn’t even need the answer, like both strangers had let her in and made their expressions transparent for only her to see.

 

“A lot of winters have gone by… There’s no way-”

 

“You didn’t forget, Jihyo” The demon says “Why should the forest do so?”

 

Jihyo can hear Chan’s uneasy steps out of the cell, but there’s nothing but deafening silence inside; there’s three souls inside of dirty stone walls, screaming for three different cravings, but their mouths don’t mutter a single word until the fire from Jihyo’s torch, now placed on one of the walls, cracked and the maid’s lips opened, ready to bleed out.

 

“She was only a child… We were only children” There’s a single tear running down Jihyo’s face, but none of the two strangers dare to stop it.

 

“I’m only a few years older than the Princess, I cared for her as soon as the King decided I was able to do so, since I used to help in the kitchen. I was happy because I always cared for her and she was so kind to us, to all of us, no matter how poor we were and- The princess was seven years old and I was eleven when I took her to the playroom, and I loved the place because it was every child’s dream.

 

I was teaching her how to read because the chef had taught me and the Queen always told me that it was important that us both knew about the world outside so we could be great when we grew up. We were in the middle of a book when a stranger came into the playroom, a young lady, looked as lost as I felt when she handled me her child and begged me to take care of her while she talked to the king. The little girl was at least a year older than the princess, and quiet as a lake.

 

I didn’t know if I was allowed to take care of other’s people children besides the princess, but I did anyway because she was so sweet and Princess Momo was immediately smitten by her; her mother though, looked so troubled that my heart felt heavy when she asked me to take care of the child.”

 

“And what happened?” The young general finds herself asking, and Jihyo clenches her hands into fists.

 

“The mother never came back for her daughter, the king ordered she was expelled from the castle. I didn’t understand why at the beginning, but as I was playing with the both kids, I started realizing something was going on… The little girl was so different to Princess Momo, but resembled her in other ways- Anyways, it got late and I took the both of them for dinner, the little girl never asked for her mother and it broke my heart to think that maybe she knew she was being abandoned.

 

I didn’t know, I swear I didn’t know…”

 

“Miss Jihyo-”

 

“I put them to sleep in Momo’s bed that winter night, the Princess refused to let go of her new friend’s hand and I didn’t see any problem with that but then the King barged in and told me to take the little girl away from the Princess, I had never seen him so angry. So I took her in my arms while she was still sleeping and carried her away, I was going to take her to the kitchen employees house, thinking she was being abandoned or sold to be a servant; the king told me to take her to the stables instead…”

 

Tears run free down the young maid’s face as she sobs, and the strangers faces turn hard when they realize about what’s to come. Hyejoo clenches her jaw but her Queen puts her hand on her arm, young child, empathic as they came.

 

“I never let her wake up, I held her close and put my cloak around her; she looked so peaceful, not even the horses nor the storm woke her up, like she felt at ease being in the winter. I asked my King why was it necessary for her to sleep in the stables, being so young, when she could be more helpful in the kitchen, but he told me she was not to be known by anyone, not a single soul, and she was to be forgotten by his daughter. I realized then, I was young but I understood that the child in my arms was a bastard child… And then I realized that the King wanted to do to her.”

 

Even Chan’s steps got quiet outside, and all of them, present in those dungeons stopped to hear what the young maid had kept inside her heart for so long, even the snow outside seemed to get colder as the words slip from Jihyo’s tongue like they were a poison about to extinguish any trace of life remaining in that castle.

 

“I let her sleep, until the very last moment.” The maid finally whispered, standing up slowly and walking towards the demon. “I took her little hand in mine and never let go even when she slowly opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was the sword and the last… Her father’s eyes, full of a hate she didn’t deserve.”

 

Jihyo made a pause as she stood in front of the demon, no, the child she once knew, and one of her hands reached forward even though her whole body told her to prevent herself from doing so; her thumb slowly traced the scar over the dark queen’s right eye. The always intimidating figure didn’t do anything, as if knowing Jihyo needed the contact as much as she needed to accomplish her goals.

 

“A single strike, on the right side of her face, over her eye… It was just an instant.”

 

“What was her name?” Hyejoo asked, looking to Jihyo under an entirely different light after the story.

 

“She never got to know it, because the child was always quiet; when the king ordered her to keep silent and go throw the child to the river, Jihyo buried her instead and gave her a name so she would know who to pray for…” Jihyo looks into the demon’s eyes as she speaks, trying to find even the thinnest of probabilities of humanity in those eyes when she whispers the name she was to take to the grave.

 

“Her name was Jeongnam.”

 

“The daughter of the Northern Princess… And the soulless piece of meat they call King.”

 

Jihyo still has her hands on the demon’s face, and, too tired to do anything about it, she doesn’t even bother to flinch when she feels cold fingers over her own hands, trying to convince her that everything it’s real; Hyejoo gets up and her hands meet the stone wall on the far end of the dungeon. Meanwhile, while some of the elderly would say Jihyo was falling into the devil’s trap, she felt she was being burned from the inside; a new feeling invades her body the more she looks at the dark queen’s eyes, aggressive, different to the quiet devotion she always felt towards royalty.

 

“I heard stories when I was a kid, about the Pricolici; beasts without a soul, made from werewolves murdered by indiscriminate hate. We’re taught to fear them, because hate and revenge feed their power and they multiply, raising from cursed grounds to seek for the blood that made them impure at the beginning and who’s better than mortals to spread hate and revenge among every kingdom.” She says, softly. “But that dark eye can only belong in the darkness between stars, the endless void in the night sky… And I’ve heard about those creatures too. So who are you?”

 

“Whatever you need me to be.” The demon simply says, interlacing her fingers with the young maid’s “A messenger from death, your dearest child… The salvation to your kingdom or its worst nightmare. But now, M’lady, you do know my name.”

 

“Mina…” Jihyo says, and Chan opens the cell door, a sad look on his face. “Princess Momo doesn’t stop calling your name, even while she sleeps.”

 

“Please, Lady Jihyo, tell her that every beat of my heart sounds for her; tell your Princess that I will fulfill the promise she made to the stars that night.” Mina whispers close to her, more vulnerable than the young maid had expected so suddenly, like it was a last message.

 

“Jihyo, the guards are coming for them” Chan interrupts “They’re taking them to the edges of the forest, they want their trial to be public, and in front of the forest wanderers.”

 

Jihyo nods, and looks into the eyes of the child she once knew; it’s hard to let go of her hands, she still sees the lifeless little body hanging from her arms in the middle of the forest. It feels like she’d lose her again if she let go of her.

 

“I made my vow to the forest Queen,” Hyejoo breaks the small silence created around them. “Unbreakable vow to serve her; but do know, Lady Jihyo, that the Pricolici are in an eternal debt with you for giving our northern princess a worthy funeral and care for her soul beyond her death. The forest was a witness to your suffering, and the forest will mend what was broken.”

 

It’s a promise, a terrible promise and Jihyo can see the deadly determination in the young general’s eyes; she means blood and every ounce of suffering, pain and tears she can imagine. The young maid doesn’t know the true extent of Hyejoo’s power and bloodthirst, but she saw the guard’s corpses and she was mindful to her words: there isn’t only one Pricolici wandering in the forest and if only one of them, the finest, could tear apart four trained soldiers in a second, it was only a matter of time before hell would break loose and the King would regret his every action against the forest and its people.

 

But even with such heavy words, the always pure spirit of Jihyo can only see the good intentions in the general.

 

“Why you, demons, are capable of such acts of devotion and words of love?” She finds herself asking when she’s being escorted out of the cell by a very serious looking Chan.

 

Mina gets up from where she’s sitting and she bows to Jihyo with respect, and her young general does the same.

 

“Because even hell wept when you and Momo shed your tears in those winters.”

 

Not a single word leaves any of them as Chan lets the other guards get into the cell and chain both Mina and Hyejoo’s wrists and ankles, Jihyo runs up the stairs before she can see how they’re handled by the King’s most loyal guard and brought to a trial that was probably meant to bring fear into the nearby kingdoms and her own people: A warning so the king wasn’t disobeyed or defied ever again.

 

And she cries out loud, falling on her knees when she realizes the one thing torturing her soul ever since that night was forgiven by both heaven and hell.

 

At the same time, Momo wakes up in her chambers, calling the name of her lover.

 

“My dearest daughter…” Her father’s voice sounds distant, frail and nervous; Momo sits up and looks around, wishing that she could find the owner of her heart in the farthest corner of the room, waiting for the King to leave so she could touch her again. “I was so scared.”

 

Momo meets her father’s eyes, and confusion starts to slowly fade away as she recalls everything that happened before the eyes of her lover lulled her to an almost never-ending sleep. She brings her hands to her own chest, trying to make sure her heart keeps beating even when her goddess is away, and probably, deep into the forest; her lips feel dry and her throat soon follows, but she barely gets the opportunity to let her father know about it before a glass of water is handled to her.

 

“What happened, father?” She says softly, her voice hoarse thanks to the dryness.

 

“Everything it’s okay now, my dearest.” He says with a more relaxed expression on his face, and Momo realizes soon that there’s something on his tone that seems different, it’s almost desperate and something tells the princess it doesn’t have to do with the fact that she fell unconscious. “You… Don’t you remember what happened?”

 

Ah, so he wanted to find out what she knew.

 

And yes, Momo felt exhausted somehow, like all her strength was absorbed by Mina’s eyes but she remembered every single detail of what happened; what she didn’t know were the reasons behind everything, even though she tried to put all the pieces together by recalling the words of her beloved. Momo had been underestimated for too long, a princess, a kind and lovable one and that’s all what people, especially royalty thought about her; being behind every military tactic and political movement in the kingdom, without anyone even noticing proved the opposite.

 

So she raised her chin, and put on the emptiest expression she could to answer.

 

“I only remember falling asleep after the guards came into the hall.” An innocent glint on her eyes was what made everything believable. “Did something happen, father?”

 

The king only shook his head, and got up from his seat besides her bed, walking to the door and opening it to reveal a couple members from the royal council and her personal maid, Jihyo, who practically ran to her with food and drinks. They glanced into each other’s eyes, and Momo saw everything she needed to see in her best friend’s eyes; a small gesture, Jihyo’s index finger across her own lips like she was getting rid of dirt, and the manuscripts on the council member’s hands.

 

They sought for a declaration.

 

“I’ll ask for your forgiveness, council members, for receiving you here on this state.” The princess politely said, ushering Jihyo out with a flick of her wrist; she didn’t miss the way her father looked at the young maid. “I just woke up and I must look unproper.”

 

“Oh, milady, it’s us who should apologize for being so eager to have a little audience regarding the recent issues.” The leader of the council, an old man with an even older -somehow- looking beard but wise eyes, told her with a kind smile; Momo could see why he was the leader, the two other members always looked annoyed, but the leader made sure to fake an interested look pretty well in those absolutely boring meetings every month.

 

“Recent issues?”

 

The King is escorted away by the two other council members, to supposedly prepare the public trial and send the messengers for the people in town, even though the news spread as fast as the whispers about the Princess did. The old council leader looks at Momo thoughtfully and she politely points the chair for the man to sit.

 

“Apparently there was an attack attempt, towards our King and yourself, Princess Momo; several members of the royal guard were brutally murdered and we found you in the arms of the principal suspect. For now, she hasn’t declared her name nor loyalty, that’s why we need to know every piece of information you might have, without the influence of the prisoner or… Your father.”

 

“Prisoner?” Momo asks.

 

“She, and the young woman who accompanied her, were imprisoned for their horrible crime, we’re getting ready for the public trial and our King and several Dukes agree on death penalty.”

 

“And why don’t you agree too?” She raises her eyebrows in faux concern. “Where does your loyalty lay?”

 

The man nods, a genuine kind expression on his face as he puts the manuscripts on top of Momo’s bed for her to see. The princess only needs to read a couple to understand where he’s going with his words.

 

“My loyalty lies where the kingdom is, but I do believe in fair laws beyond the sole opinion of your majesty.”

 

“Loyal to the kingdom, not the King.” Momo confirms, and the old man nods slowly, like he’s afraid of the Princess taking the same rushed decisions than his father did in the past. “I do wish every person involved in the kingdom thought the same way as you do, loyal council leader.”

 

“You honor me, your grace.”

 

“About my declaration…” She starts, fingers tracing the manuscripts as her young, brilliant eyes meet old and wise ones “I’ll abstain until the trial, I have to know what she… What both of them have to say.”

 

“If you’d let me say it, your grace. It’s not the first time I’ve seen people like them, so peaceful in the middle of the chaos; they remind me of you, in a way.”

 

Momo fails to understand what he means, simply watching him go, walking away and crossing her door before two other maids do the same to enter and help her into a dress for the evening; Momo hates she’s using that red dress, even though it has the colors of their kingdom, she can’t help but think it’s a blood omen; the taste of it reminds her of Mina’s lips and the worry on her heart grows when she finds out she willingly delivered herself to be captured, she does know her lover is strong beyond imagination, and her power it’s something she cannot entirely fathom, but there’s something even worse crawling up her spine when she looks out of the windows while her maids prepare her hair.

 

She does not feel the comfort of having her loved one close, she doesn’t feel her at all.

 

Her shoes click loudly on the marble floors, and she wonders about her loyal maid when she gets to the dining hall and finds nothing but a spot for her to eat at the table, but she doesn’t dare to ask the other maids; Tzuyu looks unapproachable at times, and Nayeon, even though she’s really nice whenever they interact, doesn’t look to eager to say anything either. Everyone in the palace is oddly silent, and they all look at the Princess without the smiles she was used to receive. The princess sighs and gets up from her seat shortly after sitting down, both maids accompanying her panic at the annoyed expression on her face, opening their mouths to say something but stopping as soon as the usually composed princess takes both of her hands to her face and then to her hair, undoing both of her braids and makes herself one instead.

 

“Everyone is going to the trial, right?”

 

“We all have to; the notification came at dawn.” Tzuyu answers, and Nayeon bites her lower lip. “Everyone is scared.”

 

“Tzuyu-”

 

“The princess has to know, Nayeon.”

 

Momo turns her head towards the girls, curious, and Tzuyu looks at the floor, suddenly ashamed of her own words when the princess meets their eyes.

 

“I can’t pinpoint the exact moment when this kingdom became like this.” The princess states, visibly annoyed because of her maids’ reactions. “Barbarians, we resemble. And now our own people decide it’s scary to talk about their concerns; I’d say you have to be confident on my intentions towards my people, and stop fearing your own opinions for the sake of pleasing royalty.”

 

“Princess, you’re the healing balm of this kingdom; you’ve brought peace to our hearts with your kindness and we all hurt when you’ve been mistreated.” Tzuyu says, and Nayeon holds onto her arm with delicate motions. “But this, we talking to you, it’s dangerous and might be judged as treason. I want nothing but for you to know each and single detail of what has been happening in the castle these last years, but it’s not us who you should seek for the truth.”

 

“It’s Jihyo.” Nayeon interrupts, and Momo sharpens her look “Look for Jihyo before the trial, we saw the king calling for her when the council members came for you, m’lady.”

 

Two maids share a look, and Momo dismisses them, promising peace for the days to come at least on their particular case; she feels exasperated, out of control of what she believed was in perfect harmony and order. She feels a pulling sensation on her chest again, the tears threatening to abandon her eyes as the frustration takes over her body and the fear for her lover’s fate finally sinks in. The sole idea of Mina knowing what was to come and still daring to love her and take over her soul makes her anger, Mina was wiser than to sacrifice her life for only one more night alongside her.

 

She breathes in deeply, and the mask of the sweet, innocent princess slips back into place as she gathers her things and announces her leaving towards the trial place; kind smiles, encouraging each and everyone passing by her to think that this was just a small obstacle on her kingdom’s usual functions.

 

The wind doesn’t feel as cold anymore when she steps out from the castle, followed by a couple guards as she decides to walk all the way towards the edges of the forest, where an already large crowd has arrived to see who the two foreigners were and what was the decision of the king regarding their fate. Momo bitterly recognizes the faces of each murdered guard families, but she soon avoids their faces because no matter if they were sons, fathers or brothers, their choosing wrote their fate beyond what they could actually control. A flash of nausea fills her stomach when she sees the rope hanging from the wooden structure, but she puts on a brave façade in order to make everyone believe she’s neutral about the subject.

 

Her father is already sitting on that luxurious chair of his, almost like he’s eager to see the show of his life; to his right, Momo sees her own chair, but she decides to stand up by using respect as her sole excuse for the trial to come. The council watches her with satisfied smiles, and she feels like screaming at her because they still see nothing but a good-mannered girl, a piece of meat for male consumption.

 

Her eyes look for Jihyo but she doesn’t find her, it’s unsettling, but she understands because her friend never liked violence anyway.

 

And there’s nothing more violent than a public trial, no matter which kingdom you came from.

 

There’re hushed whispers among the crowd as it grows, people look impatient as they wait for the council leader to stop talking to his fellow and start. Mina and Hyejoo stay calm even though they’re clearly not used to all the chains and steel holding them captive as the royal guard pretty much points them with swords ready to strike at any given moment.

 

“You came here to die.” Jihyo states, letting her hair move freely thanks to the wind and the restraints on her own wrists. “We all did.”

 

“We came to mend what was broken.” Mina replies, glancing at her general, whose look stays fixed on the trees.

 

“But there’s something I fail to understand.” The maid continues, ignoring the sharp pain on her cheek thanks to the bruise she’s bearing for everyone to see. “You could easily have broken into the kingdom through our princess, if you had taken away, the king still loses approval. She was, after all, the cause to all of this… Then why do you keep defending her?”

 

“I came from a far place, Lady Jihyo, it was your princess wishes what brought me here and I suspect you already know what I needed in exchange.” Mina says softly, cracking her neck a bit and breathing slowly for Jihyo to see how her eyes got darker. “Something changed between us on the way, because I had not expected her to have the power over me instead.”

 

“You fell in love with her for real…” Jihyo realizes “Love it’s not a power play, Mina. You won’t get her by just giving up all power for her.”

 

“There’s a lot about the human soul I have yet to learn, but I do know that I promised the world for her to take and I will.”

 

“But how if you’re about to get hung in front of her?”

 

“The only thing I’ve learnt about love and the bodily desire, Lady Jihyo, it’s that it becomes a very powerful thing when it’s mutual.”

 

The guards grab both Mina and Hyejoo and pull them up the wooden gallows, the crowd falling silent as they only see two young girls walking to the front like they prepared themselves for that specific day for their whole lives. And the surprise becomes even more evident when Chan himself takes Jihyo by the arm and makes her stand by the two criminals. The young maid looks at her beloved princess and tries not to cry when she sees the surprised and soon horrified expression of the girl she watched grow ever since she was just a baby. The mumbling among people becomes louder when they recognize Jihyo, and the three supposed criminals watch how the crowd expressions change from wary to really unsure.

 

The leader of the royal council walks in front the three of them, clearing his throat so the guards demand silence from the people.

 

“This public trial shall begin when I’ve read the crimes each of the accused prisoners and they acknowledge or deny each and every crime they’ve been accused of.” His loud voice sends shivers down Momo’s spine, and it’s becoming hard to keep the same expression when she sees two people she loves the most with ropes around their necks. She doesn’t realize when it starts happening, but she starts praying for them in silence, begging for her whole life for her expression to not be read by anyone. “We will ask for them to identify themselves so everyone can know where they came from and which kingdoms are held responsible for such horrible crimes.”

 

Momo swears she can hear her own heart beating on her ears thanks to the silence.

 

“Identify yourself.” The council leader says to Jihyo, and Momo watches her sniff as her own father lets out a scoff.

 

“My name is Jihyo, my lord, and I’ve served to this kingdom since the day I was born as the princess caretaker and maid.”

 

“Jihyo.” The lord says, turning to the people watching “Accused of treason to your majesty and having ties with the two other criminals, allowing them entrance to the castle and its premises.”

 

The wind helps Jihyo to keep her tears at bay, but it doesn’t help to see the fellow maids and her dearest princess with such fear on their faces. The council sends her a sad look, but he walks towards the one beside her, pretending to not know her at all because it made everything easier.

 

“Identify yourself.” He now says to Hyejoo, who just sneers at him and spits near his foot, clear blue eyes and white abnormally large fangs glowing thanks to the daylight and the snow. The guards immediately press their swords on her ribs, threatening to cut beyond but still she keeps her silence; it makes Momo clench her jaw when she sees her lover and still, she doesn’t look at her, like she’s avoiding her for some reason.

 

It still makes her heart stop when she hears Mina’s voice though.

 

“She will not speak nor identify herself without her lord’s permission, she made a vow like your royal guard did.”

 

“Then we will have her lord identify both of them and answer for your crimes, shall we?” The council leader says, and Momo is pulled back by her father, forced to sit down beside him.

 

“My dearest daughter, you should go back to the castle; I don’t want my precious flower to witness such a horrible act even though they do not deserve any mercy coming from us.”

 

“But what did Jihyo do, your majesty?” Momo asks desperate, holding onto her father’s clothes with both of her hands. “She has been by my side from the beginning and has shown loyalty beyond any soldier we’ve encountered.”

 

“You heard the council leader, my dearest, she betrayed us and I’m sorry you had to find out this way instead of a more discreet one; but you know, we won’t allow any sort of crime against the crown on our kingdom.”

 

Momo finally lets the tears fall from her face when she sees one of the guards tightening the ropes around Jihyo and one of the stranger’s necks, like they’re getting ready to execute them without even a chance of proving the charges wrong. Her body vibrates with the urge of doing anything to stop what’s about to happen, but she still lacks any information she might have to prove them innocent; she only watches as the crowd starts questioning Jihyo’s loyalty like they didn’t know her ever since she was a child, disbelief making her feel disgusted about her own people even though she knows it’s out of fear.

 

It’s like she defended a lost cause from the beginning.

 

And she’s about to scream out her opinion against it, but Mina’s voice interrupts her, louder than her own thoughts.

 

“We are the horror behind every story you tell your children so they won’t stray away from home, the glowing eyes watching from the night and the barbarians that took over the blue forests. We’ve been called demons and barbarians, fearless and merciless murderers, all by a King wishing to hide a truth that would remove him from the throne.” The words slip from her tongue so easily and so fervently that the people can’t help but feel as entranced as Momo did the first time she heard her; the princess herself shivers when Mina licks her dirt-stained lips before continuing. “The three people being executed today are the carriers of the truth behind the conflict of this kingdom and the northern ones.”

 

There’s a collective gasp among the crowd, but as soon as the king stands up from his golden throne no one dares to even breathe too loudly.

 

“Her charges.” The King hisses in command.

 

“Murder of the royal guard and attempt of kidnapping and murder of the royal family.” The council leader says. “The sentence to such inhumane crimes it’s death, and they shall be skinned alive before being hung as of petition of your majesty for the message of zero tolerance to be sent to each and everyone who dares to challenge this kingdom.”

 

Momo gets up faster than she registers, a severe look on her eyes.

 

And when she feels pure anger bubble in her chest, it’s the moment when the burning sun of the Hirai Kingdom meets the eyes of the moon goddess of the Forest Wanderers. And the string, invisible to everyone else, ties their hearts together as the realization hits the young princess and the quiet look of her godly lover gifts her with a single memory, a single memory including a toy and the hand she held before falling asleep.

 

“My name is Mina, from the northern house of Myoui and heir to the north kingdom; I’m the daughter of the late Myoui queen and… The first born of your King.”

 

“LIES!” The king roars as people gets loud and a couple of them start pushing the guards in seek of answers for what was revealed.

 

“Is there any evidence to what you’re saying, Myoui Mina from the north?” The council leader asks and Mina nods solemnly.

 

“Only what the people will realize when I’m done speaking.”

 

“Then by all means.”

 

“The northern kingdom has always been known by its wild and dangerous lands, where little of the ones who venture survive thanks to the weather; it was not a wealthy kingdom but a very powerful one thanks to our soldiers. Many years ago, your King was just a Duke and sought to learn from our warriors the ways of the nature and how to survive in war; he met my late mother then and I was conceived a year before your King got engaged to this kingdom’s princess and eventually became King. My mother brought me here when I was just a child, hoping for my father to take care of me and there was no intention beyond the one of a mother taking care of her daughter.”

 

“They came to the kingdom the first full moon night in the winter.” Jihyo continues “And there’s several witnesses to this, including myself.”

 

“My mother returned to the north, escorted by the royal guard.”

 

“But the child did not, and she disappeared.”

 

“Your king tried to kill me for the first time here, near the stables.”

 

“And I carried her hurt body to the forests.”

 

“Where the forest wanderers took me in and protected me until I was healed.”

 

“And she came back in hopes to recover what was lost.”

 

“And it’s not my right to the kingdom in the north.”

 

“Nor the one in the south.” Jihyo clarifies.

 

“What I seek for now it’s justice, not for me or the ones beside me, but your dearest Princess Momo, burning sun of the southern kingdom. You all know about the unfairness she’s lived under; the maids who prepare her for the royals who take advantage of her, the soldiers who see her planning every attack they successfully achieve and the people who has been witness to her kindness. What I seek for now it’s the kingdom to be hers instead of a corrupt and perverted king, who murders children and makes of our people slaves or animals to be sacrificed for a show.”

 

The people in the kingdom now are in chaos, stable men and maids pushing against guards who have their swords ready and waiting for the King to give the order and start the killing. Hyejoo smirks because of everything, and she sends Jihyo a reassuring look when the king screams for them to be executed immediately. The young general starts moving slowly then, predatory eyes looking at the guards and the portion of people who decides in the spot to keep their loyalty to the king; the maid knows she’s making a black list but her attention soon drifts to the King, who grabs his own daughter by the arm and throws her in front of him, asking for a sword from one of his guards.

 

“I SHALL NOT BE DISOBEYED BY MY OWN KINGDOM, NOR BETRAYED BY MY OWN SCHEMING DAUGHTER!”

 

Momo looks at her father in horror when her skin meets the sharp and cold steel of a sword, but no member of the council nor a single guard does anything about it.

 

“TREASON MEANS DEATH!” He shouts, raising the sword above his head as the crowd shouts for him to stop, begging him for mercy. “THE ONES WHO ARE STILL LOYAL TO ME AND THIS KINGDOM, KILL EVERY TRAITOR!”

 

“Please don’t” Both Jihyo and Momo whisper at the same time, finally seeing the true face of the crown.

 

“Give the order, my Queen.” Hyejoo hisses, inpatient blue eyes fixated on the King.

 

“You have my permission, my loyal general, to fulfill your vow.” Mina says.

 

“Lady Jihyo?” Hyejoo asks, and the maid doesn’t understand why she is asking for permission until she hears the distant howls coming from the depths of the forest.

 

Jihyo’s eyes travel through the chaos in the kingdom she loved, from the people who are trying to defend what they think it’s fair, to the monster who’s about to murder yet another daughter, all because of a power they don’t fully grasp or understand. The answer it’s on her hands and it’s hers to carry when the two syllables leave her mouth, sealing the fate of not only the southern kingdom, but the northern one and every single one Mina conquered before arriving.

 

“Do it.”

 

As soon as it leaves her mouth, she hears the cracking and twisting sound of metal being bended and instead of a young girl, the biggest wolf she has ever seen in her life speeds by her and jumps towards guards and leaves a bloody trail behind it, all coming from severed arms the black wolf lets fall from its mouth. The young maid doesn’t have to be horrified by the gory show, because the other prisoner sets herself free too and helps her out of her chains. Mina seems to ignore what’s going on around her as she releases Jihyo, and the maid watches how a gigantic pack of wolves come out from the edges of the forest, following their leader as the black wolf shreds to pieces every person who crosses its way.

 

“You will see them fall, M’lady.” It’s the only thing she states before stealing the sword of a fallen soldier and handles it to her.

 

It’s like time stops when Momo sees her lover throw herself to her father, sword in hand, before he can do anything, and her name leaves her mouth in desperation as they start fighting. She looks around to find nothing more than death and chaos, and she finally believes the warnings Mina gave her when they met, and all the promises she made after they became one, the same night when Momo made that one wish on that one faithful night.

 

A wish that brought her to this point, a wish that brought the Pricolici from the forest and the Zburaturul from the night skies in exchange for her soul.

 

A pact with the devil.

 

“ _I want to end it all.”_

“All the kingdoms at her feet, all she can give to me.” Momo mutters, standing up slowly as her lover and her own father exchange strikes while the people and the wolves fight the royal guard around her. “Just by saying the word.” She meets the arms of Jihyo as the maid runs to her and envelopes her in a protective hug while the wolves run by them and more blood it’s shed on the now reddening snow.

 

“Princess Momo…” Jihyo says.

 

“The Queen.” Momo whispers back, finally understanding everything. “She wants a Queen for all kingdoms.”

 

“Give her one.”

 

Mina moves gracefully as she successfully avoids every strike the king, full of rage, directs towards her; it’s like dancing fire, following, striking, cracking and then beginning again. She smiles when she sees the king bleeding out of a small cut on his cheek, and it reminds her of the scratch on Jihyo’s face; her sword moves swiftly and cleanly in exchange, and out of the corner of her eye she sees the people retreating and the royal army falling under the paws, claws and teeth of the forest wanderers.

 

“I killed you myself, how can it be possible?” He hisses, and another one of his strikes falls victim of Mina’s parry.

 

The forest queen starts getting bored when the old body of a decaying King becomes slower and grows tired, but she’s patient, she has lots of things to wait and she keeps her harmony in each movement.

 

Finally, she kicks the side of his knee and his pathetic stance crumbles, making him kneel before him.

 

Like many others did before.

 

“How can such an empty piece of meat be the fear of so many…” Mina sighs, throwing her sword away and kicking a bit of snow and mud towards the fallen king. “I told you the forest did not forget, father.” She mockingly adds, eyes full of mischief as she smells her beloved Queen getting closer to them.

 

“Myoui Mina, from the north! Stop at this very second and retreat your army!”

 

Momo’s voice it’s violent, and it’s the most delicious thing Mina has ever tasted besides her innocence, several time in those nights when they met in secret. A single whistle, and a growl, the wolves stop with their butchery and the remaining soldiers run to a safe distance because they’re still attentive to the King and the princess. Mina turns towards her lover and rejoices in the lost naivety on her eyes, the delicate Momo she corrupted no longer lives behind those burning eyes.

 

To this Momo, the kingdom listens.

 

The princess in the red dress steps forward and puts her hand on Mina’s shoulder, pushing her aside as she encounters the man behind every pain originated in the Kingdom, breathless and pathetic as he somehow seems relieved when he sees his daughter.

 

“My dearest daughter, the burning sun of the south… P-please, help me.”

 

Momo is dirty, her red dress no longer brilliant but with the shade of the blood decorating the snow at the edges of the forest, there’s blood and mud on her face but that fails to have an effect on people looking at her when they meet her eyes and see what changed inside her heart, the realization of the crystal bubble being broken. There’s tears running down her face and that’s the only thing that proves she kept some humanity inside her.

 

“Not only did you lie when you said you rescued children to work for us, but you also forced them to awful acts; not only did you bring boys and girls from their homes to train them, to domesticate them into becoming your army… You also exposed a young girl to the worst horrors she could witness and abandoned another in the middle of a forest, leave her to die. Your own daughter, a princess to another kingdom.” The sweet princess all the whispers told about was no longer there, and instead, a woman rose from her ashes, holding onto the king and pulling him by the collar so he meets her eye. “Not only did you sell your daughter, the heir to this kingdom, to disgusting men to be touched and kissed, but you planned to use her to your convenience until the very last minute.”

 

She sees the anger and betrayal written on her father’s face, but she coldly ignores him and let’s go of his clothes, letting him fall back down pathetically.

 

“I don’t know but it sounds like treason to the kingdom and the crown to me, what do you say, leader of the council?”

 

The king watches as the old man is being escorted by two young girls that look like they belong with the demon general.

 

“It does sound like treason, M’lady.”

 

“And how do we judge treason in this kingdom?”

 

“With death penalty if dictated by the crown, Princess.” He finishes, as scared as the king looks.

 

Momo looks around and sees her people looking devastated, dirty and scared of what’s going on, then she sees the wolves, morphing back into their human form as Hyejoo steps closer and lets go of yet another dead soldier. She breathes in the smell of death and horror and closes her eyes when the perfume of her lover invades her too, bringing a bit of calm in the midst of chaos; the cold finally hits on her skin, and she remembers. Momo remembers the night when she wished she was dead and instead she whished for all kingdoms to fall, what she did not expect was for that wish to become true and finding herself at that position.

 

Mina wanted a Queen.

 

“Where does your loyalty lies, council leader?” The princess asks.

 

“Where the kingdom is, princess.”

 

The princess glances at her people and breathes in again, to speak louder for the kingdom to hear.

 

“WHERE DOES YOUR LOYALTY LIE?”

 

There’s silence, but Mina smiles when she sees the soldiers, falling on their knees one by one as the King whimpers and realizes there’s no one out there willing to show him loyalty anymore. Soon the maids follow and the rest of people does too, farmers and stable owners and keepers; one by one, every person in the kingdom kneels before the burning sun of the south and she watches how it happens until her look meets Jihyo and she does too, followed by Hyejoo and her people.

 

“The forest wanderers swear loyalty to the burning sun of the south and moonlight of the north!”

 

And there, there was her lover, looking at her with a smile for the first time; the true heir to the throne, the stranger she met on a faithful night and the warmth she lived into in the coldest nights. Mina licks her lips like she’s enjoying every ounce of power that emanates from her, but as soon as Momo finds herself under her look, she’s back onto being the delicate flower the forest goddess claimed as her own.

 

“Mina-“

 

“My Queen.” Mina breathes out, and Momo once again feels the shivers down her spine.

 

And then, in the most unexpected act of humbleness coming from a goddess, Mina kneels before her like she did the first night they met.

 

“I told you before that my kingdom ended when those stone walls began.” She says, taking Momo’s hand on her own. “And I promised you that all the kingdoms at my feet would be yours to take. I, the queen of the north and the forest wanderers, swear eternal loyalty to you. Queen Momo, the burning sun of the south.”

 

“Mina…”

 

“My Queen.” Mina breathes out, satisfied, before turning to look at the pathetic former King of the south. “The forest does not forget, nor forgive.”

 

“Neither will we.” Momo agrees, her look turning cold as she looks at her father.

 

She signals Jihyo to stand up, and asks her to come closer. Mina walks to her and picks up the sword the maid had left behind to put it back on her hands; the young maid looks at both of the queens, but only the northern queen looks at her, nodding in approval.

 

“Mend what was broken.” It’s the only thing they say, before placing Jihyo in front of the king, sword in her hands.

 

Neither of the two queens stay when Jihyo kills the king with a single strike, the same way he did with the young child she buried with her own hands, but Hyejoo does, promising to fulfill her promise of taking care of the one who saved the soul of the northern princess.

 

Momo and Mina walk back into the castle with their fingers interlaced, dirt and blood on their feet leaving a trail behind them, as well as their discarded clothes. They melt into each other before Momo gets to the throne, and it does nothing but to reassure the bond she has stablished with the northern goddess; It’s about the way in with their hands fit so well together or the devotion on the demon’s eyes that makes Momo certain about her decisions and it’s about the sounds she makes when she kisses her chest what makes her heart beat faster and feel more alive than she ever did.

 

It was always relieving when she saw the sunset from her bedroom, but this time, as she watches from the window how the fresh snow covers the blood of the already removed corpses -thrown into the river by Hyejoo’s people because they did not deserve a burial- she sighs, once again melting onto Mina’s arms as she hugs her from behind, kissing her naked shoulder after the both of them took a bath.

 

“My queen.”

 

“Won’t you ever get tired of calling me like that?” Momo replies, smiling softly and leaning onto her lover’s touch.

 

“No.” The goddess says, and the Queen just hums.

 

“You could’ve stepped onto the throne without a problem, why didn’t you?”

 

“Your wish, it was fulfilled, Momo.”

 

“Will you leave now that you granted my wish?” The southern sun asks, and Mina stays silent, removing herself from the embrace before starting to dress up with the clothes Nayeon left for them outside Momo’s quarters. The Queen takes a moment of peace to look at her and appreciate how good Mina looks in the vanguard clothes.

 

“Follow me, your majesty.” It’s the only thing she says before Momo slips onto a gown of her own and takes her lover’s hand once again. They step onto the throne room and Mina guides Momo onto the huge and golden throne that now belongs to her, bowing and kneeling down beside her after she chivalrously helps her sit down and accommodate her gown before placing a crown too big for her on the top of her head.

 

“They did clean up the mess after all.” Mina hums, and Momo chuckles bitterly.

 

“I can’t believe they still follow me and stay loyal.”

 

“I think that they’re pretty comfortable in their positions now that you rule these kingdoms, my Queen; Hyejoo will serve you well as your new general and there will be no better council leader than Jihyo to know what’s best to your people, she is their voice too.”

 

“I know.” Momo says, looking at the large and empty room and the map inscribed on the marble floor to illustrate all the kingdoms. “What was what you wanted to show me?”

 

“What do you see from here, your majesty?” Mina asks, extending her arm towards the room.

 

“An old castle, and a poorly drawn map of the kingdoms.” Momo replies, more interested in her lover than to trivialities like those; Mina chuckles and nods after checking closely on the map.

 

“I agree with that.” She says “But look closer.”

 

“You mean into the kingdoms?”

 

“Exactly.”

 

“What does this have to do with my question, my goddess?”

 

“You wished for everything and nothing, so everything I will give, sun of my life.” Mina states solemnly, and looks up at Momo in searches for realization. “Now, what do you see?”

 

“The world, and beyond.” Momo finally replies, looking into Mina’s eyes instead as she holds onto her jaw and slides the back of her hand over the scar on her face.

 

“The world and beyond.” Mina confirms.

 

Momo smiles as she leans closer and kiss her lips, fully knowing about the true weight of her lover’s words, but for someone who thought that had everything and actually had nothing, it sounded really attractive to finally call the world hers, and end it all. She just wished quietly, for the world to never end so her goddess would continue conquering more and more for her, and keep coming back into her arms, the same as the first night she decided to surrender her whole soul and body as a tribute in exchange of a single wish.

 

To

 

End

 

It

 

All.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Kinda important stuff!:
> 
>  
> 
> You can reach me in twt @RaccoonEyedNerd


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